Continuing my builds of Star Wars: Armada scenery, I am trying out an option to 3d print more pieces. Previously, I had a solution for the various cardboard templates (asteroids, gas clouds, space stations, and debris), and I have model solutions for each piece. What I was missing with the support rod for each, to actually hold the model up. From the design, this was intended to be 3mm clear plastic rods, similar to what is used for squadrons. However, those seem to be fairly hard to come by, at least at my local hobby shop. I can find them, but only in large quantities which I would never use up, or in small but expensive batches. None are great options.
Enter my 3d printer again, and a quick design for a support rod. Likely not the most attractive, and certainly not clear (though there are options for that), but functional, practical and inexpensive. A quick design in Tinkercad, and I have a 6mm rod, with 3mm ends, which slots into the bases, and will fit into the intended drilled holes on the terrain. And for only pennies, I can mass produce whatever I need. I may experiment with a slightly thinner rod print, but the various models are likely to be too heavy for anything much thinner, and 6mm isn’t that bulky.
